Hey.
As far as I know there are three 'names' on this forum, Levick, Karidis and Benito. Benito consults in London but does the ops in Spain I believe, so he is probably off your radar.
Surgery is probably going to cost you £4.5k all in (IE, consult(s), compression vests, travel + aftercare), so take your time and pick wisely.
It mighht also be worth speaking to your GP and seeing if any NHS help is likely, although you wont get it done before summer...... however if you want to go private your GP may still be able to recommend a good local private hospital/consultant.
Personally I went with Levick & the BMI hospital in Birmingham. I couldn't recommend strongly enough.... I am very pleased with my results so far. My main reason for picking him was: 1) As soon as I met the guy I liked & trusted him / wanted him to do the surgery, 2) The Priory is probably the best hospital local to me, like you I didn't fancy traveling much, but to me anything over 40miles is a long journey! lol
Get at least 2 consults though, £75 to £120 for a good chat and having the chance to get a feel for the surgeon is NOTHING when compared to the 4k the actual operation costs.
Whatever surgeon / hospital you go with I recommend you find out what revisions cost...... because as this website/forum shows a lot of people seek revisions or 'touch ups', and it starts to get really expensive if this isn't included in your original package.
Expect to need 6 weeks to be back to full fitness (IE: gym), but most people seem to be ok to go about normal daily tasks after 7-10 days.
finally... I found Multi-vitamins, Arnica pills and gel, crappy DVDs / Sky TV along with a good supply of Paramol / Nurofen plus post op essentials!
Pre-op nerves are probably the worse bit, but if you want to get it done before summer you better get a move on, as most places have a waiting list.